Exhibit 10.1
CONFIDENTIAL
January 21, 1998
Mr. Stephen M. Simes
1173 RFD
Long Grove, IL 60047
Dear Stephen:
I am pleased to confirm our agreement with you
concerning your employment by Ben-Abraham Technologies, Inc. (the Company),
which is subject to review, approval, and ratification by the Companys Board
of Directors.
I. Employment. Subject to the terms and conditions described
in this Employment Agreement (the Agreement), the Company agrees to employ
you as the President, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice Chairman of
the Company, and you accept this employment on the following terms and
conditions.
II. Duties.
1. You
agree to spend substantially all of your business hours on the Companys
business. You will diligently perform
the duties of your position, within guidelines to be determined by Avi
Ben-Abraham, who is the Companys Chief Executive Officer and the Chairman of
the Board of Directors. In particular,
you will actively manage the day-to-day business of the Company and shall set
corporate policies, under the direction of the Board of Directors. More particularly, your duties shall include
the day-to-day responsibility for running and administering the Company. Said responsibilities shall include, but not
be limited to, the following specific areas:
shareholder relations, fundraising, Nasdaq listing, direction of
R&D, licensing and other business development activities, budgeting and
fiscal controls, and all personnel matters.
You will report to Dr. Ben-Abraham, who will be responsible for
evaluating your job performance in accordance with the Companys annual
performance review process. The Company
agrees that during the term of this Agreement, as it may be extended, no one
other than Dr. Ben-Abraham shall serve as CEO, except you.
2. During
the term of this Agreement, you will also serve as a Director of the Company
and will perform all such duties incident to such service. Towards this end, the Company shall nominate
you as a nominee for director and solicit proxies for your election for so long
as this Agreement is in effect.
3. While
you are employed by the Company, except as otherwise permitted by the Companys
Conflict of Interest policy or this Agreement, you will not engage in any
business activity or outside employment that conflicts with the Companys
interests or adversely affect the performance of your duties for the Company.
4. You
shall be based at, and shall perform your duties at an office located in,
Chicago, Illinois, or the surrounding suburban area, where the corporate
headquarters of the Company shall also be located. The Company agrees that the other officers
and executives of the Company (except for those who are directly involved in
the research and development activities of the Company that are currently
conducted in Atlanta, Georgia) shall also be located in the same corporate
headquarters. However, you shall also
travel to other locations at such times as may be appropriate for the
performance of your duties under this Agreement.
III. Term. This Agreement is effective January 20, 1998
(the Effective Date), and will terminate on December 31, 2000, unless earlier
terminated pursuant to Section V of this Agreement (the Base Term). Commencing January 1, 2001, and on each
January 1st thereafter, the term of your employment will be automatically
extended for three (3) additional years unless on or before October 1st
immediately preceding any such extension, either party gives written notice to
the other of the cessation of further extensions, in which case no further
automatic extensions will occur. In the
event that the Company elects not to renew this Agreement other than for
cause as defined herein, you will be paid the amount described in Section
V.C.2 below.
IV. Compensation.
A. Base
Salary. The Company agrees to pay
you an annual base salary of Two Hundred Thirty Thousand Dollars ($230,000) in
accordance with the Companys standard payroll practices (Base Salary). Beginning January 20, 1999 or sooner if you
raise Two Million Dollars ($2,000,000), your Base Salary shall be increased to
Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000). In subsequent years, the Board of Directors
shall have the sole discretion to establish your Base Salary, except that, at a
minimum, it shall be adjusted upward consistent with changes to the Consumer
Price Index.
B. Annual
Bonus. You will be eligible to
receive an annual performance bonus not to exceed 50% of your Base Salary in
effect during the year under review. The
amount of said bonus shall be determined in the sole discretion of the
Compensation Committee and approved by the Board of Directors.
C. Options.
1. Upon
execution of this Agreement, the Company will grant you six hundred thousand
(600,000) stock options to purchase Subordinate Voting Shares of stock of the
Company at the lowest permissible price when this agreement is executed, one
hundred thousand of which shall vest at the time of the grant. The remainder shall vest in twelve equal
quarterly installments over the Initial Term of this Agreement with the first
installment vesting on April 21, 1998.
The remaining unvested options shall vest immediately upon a termination
without cause by the Company.
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2. Upon
execution of this Agreement, the Company agrees to grant you a combination of
an additional four hundred thousand (400,000) Subordinate Voting Shares and/or
stock options to purchase Subordinate Voting Shares of stock of the Company
during the Initial Term of this Agreement at the lowest permissible price when
this agreement is executed. Exercise of
these options shall be subject to the stock price being equal to or greater
than One Dollar ($1.00) per share at the time the options and/or shares
vest. These options shall vest in twelve
equal quarterly installments over the Initial Term of this Agreement and shall
be exercisable at such time as the foregoing condition precedent is satisfied.
3. In
the event of any reorganization, merger, consolidation, recapitalization,
liquidation, reclassification, stock dividend, reverse stock split, combination
of shares, rights offering, extraordinary dividend or divestiture (including a
spin-off) or any other change in the corporate structure or shares of the
Company, (or, if the Company is not the surviving corporation in any such
transaction, the board of directors of the surviving corporation), in order to
prevent dilution or enlargement of your rights, the Company (or the board of
the surviving corporation) shall make appropriate adjustment as to the number
of securities subject to this Option.
All of the options granted pursuant to this Section
IV.C.3 (the Anti-Dilution Options) shall automatically vest in accordance
with the same vesting schedule set forth in Sections IV.C.1 and IV.C.2
above. (As an illustration, if 200,000
of the 1,000,000 shares and/or options granted pursuant to Section IV.C.1 and
IV.C.2 above were vested at the time of the grant of the Anti-Dilution Options
pursuant to this Section IV.C.3, then 20% of the Anti-Dilution Options would
automatically vest immediately at the time of the grant, and the remaining 80%
would vest simultaneously with the vesting of the remaining shares and/or
options granted pursuant to Section IV.C.1 and IV.C.2).
In the event that your employment is terminated by the
Company other than for justifiable cause (as hereinafter defined), or if the
Company elects not to renew this Agreement, or if you are not nominated by the
Company for reelection to the Board of Directors other than for justifiable
cause (as hereinafter defined), all outstanding stock options and shares that
are held by you or your estate will immediately become exercisable and all
restrictions against disposition, if any, which have not otherwise lapsed shall
immediately lapse, and the period within which they may be exercised will be
one year following such termination of employment.
D. Benefits. In addition to the other compensation to be
paid under this Section IV, you will be entitled to participate in all benefit
plans available to all full-time, eligible employees hereafter established by
the Company, in accordance with the terms and conditions of such plans, which
the Company shall adopt promptly
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following the date hereof. These
plans shall include, but not be limited to, the following: a 401(k) plan; group hospitalization, health,
dental, disability (for which the Company agrees to obtain the maximum
long-term disability insurance benefit allowed by applicable law), and term
life insurance (in the amount of $1.1 million); and supplementary long-term
disability insurance.
E. Reimbursement
of Business Expenses. In addition to
payment of compensation under this Section IV, the Company agrees to reimburse
you for all reasonable out-of-pocket business expenses incurred by you on
behalf of the Company, provided that you properly account to the Company for
all such expenses in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Internal
Revenue Service promulgated under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended, and in accordance with the standard policies of the Company relating
to reimbursement of business expenses.
F. Automobile
Allowance. The Company shall provide
you with a monthly stipend of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for your
automobile use.
G. Vacation. You are entitled to four (4) weeks of paid
vacation per calendar year.
V. Termination.
A. Early
Termination. Subject to the
respective continuing obligations of the parties pursuant to Sections VI, VII
and VIII, this Section sets forth the terms for early termination of this
Agreement.
B. Termination
for Cause. The Company may terminate
this Agreement and your employment immediately for cause. For this purpose, cause means any of the
following: (1) fraud, (2) theft or
embezzlement of the Companys assets, (3) a violation of law involving moral
turpitude, (4) your repeated and willful failure to follow instructions of
the Board provided that the conduct has not ceased or the offense cured within
thirty (30) days following written warning from the Company that sets forth in
reasonable detail the facts claimed to provide the basis for such
termination. In the event of termination
for cause pursuant to this Section V.B, you will be paid at the usual rate your
annual Base Salary, car allowance, and any out-of-pocket expenses, through the
date of termination specified in any notice of termination and any amounts to
which you are entitled under any Company benefit plan in accordance with the
terms of such plan.
C. Termination
Without Cause. Either you or the
Company may terminate this Agreement and your employment without cause on
thirty (30) days written notice. In the
event of termination of this Agreement and of employment pursuant to this
Section V.C, compensation will be paid as follows:
1. if
the termination is by you without cause, you will be paid at the usual rate of
your annual Base Salary, car allowance, and any out-of-pocket expenses incurred
on behalf of the Company and accounted for pursuant
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to Section IV.E through the date of
termination specified in such notice (but not to exceed thirty (30) days from
the date of such notice); or
2. Notwithstanding
any provision to the contrary contained herein, in the event your employment is
terminated by the Company at any time for any reason other than justifiable
cause, disability or death, the Company shall:
(i) pay
you a severance benefit, in a lump sum payable no later than the fifth business
day following the date of termination, an amount equal to your total
compensation over the preceding twelve months, including the car allowance;
(ii) continue
to provide you, at the Companys expense, with term life insurance, as provided
herein until the earlier of (A) the expiration of the Severance Period (which
shall mean the longer of these two periods:
one year from the date of termination or the remaining term of this
Agreement), or (B) your obtaining full-time employment;
(iii) continue to allow you to
participate, at the Companys expense, in the Companys group hospitalization,
health, dental and disability insurance programs until the earlier of (A) the
expiration of the Severance Period, or (B) your becoming eligible to
participate in another employers corresponding group insurance and disability
plans;
(iv) provide
you with outplacement services at a qualified agency selected by you and the
use of an office and reasonable secretarial support for one year (unless you
become otherwise employed within such period);
(v) reimburse
out-of-pocket expenses incurred by you on behalf of the Company and accounted
pursuant to Section IV.E; and
(vi) reimburse
you for any and all unused vacation days accrued to the date of such
termination.
D. Termination
for Good Reason. You may terminate
this Agreement upon thirty (30) days written notice to the Company for good
reason. For this purpose, good reason
means: (i) the assignment to you of any
duties inconsistent with your positions, duties, responsibilities and status
with the Company as of the date hereof, or a change in your reporting
responsibilities, titles or offices, or any removal of you from or any failure
to re-elect you to any of such positions; (ii) the failure of the Company to
continue in effect any fringe benefit or compensation plan, retirement plan,
life insurance plan, health or disability plan in which you were participating
(except as such change is prompted in good faith by a change in the law), or
the taking of any action by the Company, which could reasonably be expected to
adversely affect your participation in or materially reduce your benefits under
any such plans or deprive you of any material fringe benefit
5
enjoyed by you, (iii) the reduction of your
salary or car allowance or failure to increase such salary as is provided in
Section IV.A above, or any other breach of this Agreement by the Company; or
(iv) the occurrence of a Change in Control as defined in Section IX. In any such case the Company will pay you the
amounts, and provide you the benefits, all as set forth in Section V.C.2 above.
E. Termination
In The Event of Death or Permanent Disability. This agreement and your employment will
terminate in the event of your death or permanent disability.
1. In
the event of your death, Base Salary and car allowance will be terminated as of
the end of the month in which death occurs.
2. For
the purposes of this Agreement, the term disability shall mean your inability,
due to illness, accident or any other physical or mental incapacity, to
substantially perform your duties for a period of four (4) consecutive months
or for a total of six (6) months (whether or not consecutive) in any twelve
(12) month period during the term of this Agreement.
3. Upon
your disability, the Company shall have the right to terminate your
employment. Notwithstanding any
inability to perform your duties, you shall be entitled to receive your
compensation (including bonuses, if any) as provided herein until the later of
(i) the date of your termination of employment for disability in accordance
with this Agreement, or (ii) the date upon which you begin to receive long-term
disability insurance benefits under the policy provided by the Company pursuant
to this Agreement. Any termination
pursuant to Section V.E.2 shall be effective on the date thirty (30) days after
which you shall have received written notice of the Companys election to
terminate.
F. Entire
Termination Payment.
1. The
compensation provided for in Sections V.B, V.C, V.D and V.E for early
termination of this Agreement will constitute your sole remedy for such
termination. You will not be entitled to
any other termination or severance payment which might otherwise be payable to
you under any other agreement between you and the Company or under any policy
of the Company. This Section will not
have any effect on distributions to which you may be entitled at termination
from any qualified tax plan or any other plan (other than a severance payment
or similar plan).
2. Notwithstanding
any other provisions of this Agreement or any other agreement, contract or
understanding heretofore or hereafter entered into between you and the Company,
if any payments (including, without limitation, any benefits or transfers of
property or the acceleration of the vesting of any benefits) in the nature of
compensation under any
6
arrangement that is considered contingent on
a Change in Control for purposes of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as amended (the Code), together with any other payments that you
have the right to receive from the Company or any corporation that is a member
of an affiliated group (as defined in Section 1504(a) of the Code without
regard to Section 1504(b) of the Code) of which the Company is a member, would
constitute a parachute payment (as defined in Section 280G of the Code), such
payments will be reduced to the largest amount as will result in no portion of
such payments being subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the
Code; provided, however, that you will be entitled to designate those payments
that will be reduced or eliminated in order to comply with the foregoing
provision.
G. Required
Resignations Upon Early Termination or Expiration. You agree that upon any termination of your
employment with the Company or expiration of this Employment Agreement, such
termination or expiration under this Agreement will automatically and without
further action be deemed to constitute your simultaneous resignation from all
director, officer, trustee, agent and any other positions within the Company,
all of its affiliates (including but not limited to any entity that is a
shareholder of the Company and any subsidiaries and any parent of the Company),
the Companys employee benefit plans, trusts and foundations (charitable or
otherwise) or any other similar position associated with the Company. Simultaneously upon such termination of
employment or expiration of this employment agreement, you agree to execute and
deliver to the Company any and all documents, agreements, certificates, letters
or other written instruments confirming all such resignations.
VI. Inventions.
A. You
agree that all Inventions (as defined below) you make, conceive, reduce to
practice or author (either alone or with others) during or within one year
after the term of this Agreement will be the Companys sole and exclusive
property. You will, with respect to any
such Invention: (i) keep current,
accurate, and complete records, which will belong to the Company and be kept
and stored on the Companys premises while you are employed by the Company;
(ii) promptly and fully disclose the existence and describe the nature of the
Invention to the Company in writing (and without request); (iii) assign (and
you do hereby assign) to the Company all of your rights to the Invention, any
applications you make for patents or copyrights in any country, and any patents
or copyrights granted to you in any country; and (iv) acknowledge and deliver
promptly to the Company any written instruments, and perform any other acts
necessary in the Companys opinion to preserve property rights in the Invention
against forfeiture, abandonment, or loss and to obtain and maintain patents
and/or copyrights on the Invention and to vest the entire right and title to
the Invention in the Company.
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B. Inventions,
as used in this Section, means any discoveries, improvements, creations, ideas
and inventions, including without limitation software and artistic and literary
works (whether or not they are described in writing or reduced to practice) or
other works of authorship (whether or not they can be patented or copyrighted)
that: (i) relate directly to the
Companys business or the Companys research or development during the term of
this Agreement; (ii) result from any work you perform for the Company; (iii)
use the Companys equipment, supplies, facilities or trade secret information;
or (iv) you develop during any time that Section II above obligates you to
perform your employment duties.
The requirements of this Section do not apply to an
Invention for which no equipment, supplies, facility or trade secret
information of the Company was used and which was developed entirely on your
own time, and which neither (1) relates directly to the Companys business or
to the Companys actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development,
nor (2) results from any work you performed for the Company. Except as previously disclosed to the Company
in writing, you do not have, and will not assert, any claims to or rights under
any Inventions as having been made, conceived, authored or acquired by you
prior to your employment by the Company.
VII. Proprietary
Information.
A. Except
as required in your duties to the Company, you will never, either during or
after your employment by the Company, use or disclose Proprietary Information
to any person not authorized by the Company to receive it. When your employment with the Company ends,
you will promptly turn over to the Company all records and any compositions,
articles, devices, apparatus and other items that disclose, describe or embody
Proprietary Information, including all copies, reproductions and specimens of
the Proprietary Information in your possession, regardless of who prepared
them.
B. Proprietary
Information, as used in this Section VII, means any nonpublic information
concerning the Company, including information relating to the Companys
research, product development, engineering, purchasing, product costs,
accounting, leasing, servicing, manufacturing, sales, marketing, administration
and finances. This information includes,
without limitation: (i) trade secret
information about the Company and its products; (ii) Inventions, as defined
in Section VI.B; (iii) information concerning any of the Companys past,
current or possible future products.
Proprietary Information or confidential information also includes any
information which is not generally disclosed and which is useful or helpful to
the Company and/or which would be useful or helpful to competitors. More specific examples include financial
data, sales figures for individual projects or groups of projects, planned new
projects or planned advertising programs, areas where the Company intends to expand,
lists of suppliers, lists of customers, wage and salary data, capital
investment plans, projected earnings, changes in management or policies of the
Company, testing
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data, manufacturing methods, suppliers
prices to us, or any plans we may have for improving any of our products. This information is confidential or
Proprietary Information regardless of its form, e.g. oral, written, electronic
or other, and whether or not it is labeled as proprietary or confidential. The Companys Proprietary Information or
confidential information includes our information and that of our affiliates
and third parties concerning or relating to us.
VIII. Competitive Activities.
A. You
agree that during your employment with the Company, you will not alone, or in
any capacity with another person or entity, (i) directly or indirectly engage
in any employment or activity that competes with the Companys business at the
time your employment with the Company ends, within any state in the United
States or within Canada, (ii) interfere with the Companys relationships with
any of its current or potential customers.
B. You
also agree that for a period of one year after the termination of this
Agreement for any one of the following reasons:
(i) for cause as defined above, (ii) voluntarily by you without good
reason as defined above; or (iii) in the event of a non-renewal of the
Agreement by you other than for good reason, you will abide by clauses (ii)
and (iii) of Section VIII.A above.
IX. Change
in Control.
A. For
purposes of this Agreement, a Change in Control of the Company will mean the
following:
(i) the
sale, lease, exchange or other transfer, directly or indirectly, of
substantially all of the assets of the Company (in one transaction or in a
series of related transactions) to a person or entity that is not controlled by
the Company;
(ii) the
approval by the shareholders of the Company of any plan or proposal for the
liquidation or dissolution of the Company;
(iii) a change in control of
the Company of a nature that would be required to be reported in response to
Item 5(f) of Schedule 14A of Regulation 14A or to Item 1 of Form 8-K
promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Act),
provided that, without limitation, a Change in Control shall be deemed to have
occurred if (i) any person (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and
14(d)(2) of the Act) is or shall become the beneficial owner, directly or
indirectly, of securities of the Company representing 30% or more of the
Companys then outstanding securities; or (ii) during any period of twenty-four
(24) consecutive months, individuals who at the beginning of such period
constitute the entire Board of Directors shall cease for any reason to
constitute a majority thereof unless the election, or the nomination for
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election by the Companys stockholders, of each new
director was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then
still in office who were directors at the beginning of the period.
B. If
a Change in Control occurs, the Option will become immediately exercisable in
full and will remain exercisable for the remainder of its term, regardless of
whether you remain in the employ or service of the Company.
C. For
purposes of this Section IX, you shall be entitled to the severance benefits
provided in Section V.D if the date of termination occurs either (i) while
there is to the Companys knowledge actively pending a proposed transaction,
which, if consummated, could reasonably be expected to result within one (1) year
in a Change in Control, or (ii) within two (2) years following a Change in
Control; unless, in the case of either (i) or (ii), your employment is
terminated or this Agreement is not renewed because of death or disability or
by the Company for cause or voluntarily by you other than for good reason.
X. Miscellaneous.
A. No
Adequate Remedy. You understand that
if you fail to fulfill your obligations under this Agreement, the damages to
the Company would be very difficult to determine. Therefore, in addition to any other rights or
remedies available to the Company at law, in equity, or by statute, you hereby
consent to the specific enforcement of this Agreement by the Company through an
injunction or restraining order issued by an appropriate court.
B. Governing
Law. The laws of Illinois will
govern the validity, construction, and performance of this Agreement.
C. Arbitration. Any and all disputes which arise concerning
the rights, duties or obligations of either party under any provision of this
Agreement shall be resolved exclusively by binding arbitration in accordance
with the following terms and conditions.
The party seeking arbitration shall commence a proceeding in arbitration
in Chicago, Illinois under the Rules of the American Arbitration Association. Within one month from one of the partys
request for arbitration, the party requesting arbitration shall appoint one
arbitrator and within one month of the date of such appointment, the other
party shall appoint an arbitrator.
Within three weeks of the date that the second arbitrator is appointed,
and prior to any examination of the merits of the case, the two arbitrators
shall mutually select a third arbitrator.
If either of the parties fails to appoint an arbitrator or if the two
arbitrators fail to appoint the third arbitrator within the periods referred to
above, one shall be appointed in accordance with the Rules within fifteen (15)
days of the expiry date of the respective period referred to above. The three arbitrators so selected shall constitute
the arbitral panel. The arbitral panel
shall make its decisions by the majority of its members. The arbitral panel shall render its decision
and award in writing within ninety (90) days from its final constitution.
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There shall be no appeal from the decision
and award of the arbitral panel, which shall be final and binding on the
parties and may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
D. Rights
in the Event of Dispute. If, with
respect to any alleged failure by the Company to comply with any of the terms
of this Agreement, you hire legal counsel with respect to this Agreement or
institute any negotiations or institute or respond to legal action to assert or
defend the validity of, enforce your rights under, or recover damages for breach
of this Agreement, the Company shall pay, as they are incurred, your actual
expenses for attorneys fees and disbursements, together with such additional
payments, if any, as may be necessary so that the net-after-tax payments to you
equal such fees and disbursements, provided that such payments shall be
reimbursed by you to the Company if the Arbitration panel rules in favor of the
Company and further decides that such reimbursement is appropriate. Further, pending the resolution of any such
claim or dispute, you shall not be deemed terminated for purposes of this
Agreement.
E. Mitigation. You are not required to mitigate the amount
of any payments to be made pursuant to this Agreement by seeking other
employment or otherwise, nor shall the amount of any payments provided for in
this Agreement be reduced by any compensation earned by you as the result of
your self-employment or your employment by another employer after the date of
termination of your employment with the Company.
F. Construction. Wherever possible, each provision of this
agreement will be interpreted so that it is valid under the applicable
law. If any provision of this agreement
is to any extent invalid under the applicable law, that provision will still be
effective to the extent it remains valid under the applicable law. The remainder of this agreement also will
continue to be valid, and the entire agreement will continue to be valid in
other jurisdictions.
G. Waivers. No failure or delay by either the Company or
you in exercising any right or remedy under this agreement will waive any
provision of the agreement. Nor will any
single or partial exercise by either the Company or you of any right or remedy
under this agreement preclude either the Company or you from otherwise or further
exercising these rights or remedies, or any other rights or remedies granted by
any law or any related document.
H. Entire
Agreement. This Agreement is the
entire agreement between the parties and replaces all other oral negotiations,
commitments, writings and understandings between the parties concerning the
matters in this agreement. This
Agreement can only be modified by mutual written consent of the parties. You acknowledge that you have been advised to
seek legal counsel to review this Agreement with you before you sign it.
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I. Successors
and Assigns. Except as otherwise
provided in Section IX, this Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the
benefit of the successors and assigns of the Company whether by way of merger,
consolidation, operation of law, purchase or other acquisition of substantially
all of the assets or business of the Company, and any such successor or assign
will absolutely and unconditionally assume all of the Companys obligations
under this Agreement.
J. Notices. All notices, requests and demands given to or
made pursuant hereto will, except as otherwise specified herein, be in writing
and be delivered or mailed to any such party at its address which:
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1. In
the case of the Company will be:
Ben-Abraham Technologies
225 Peachtree Street, NE
Suite 1400, South Tower
Atlanta, GA 30303
Attention: Avi Ben-Abraham, CEO
2. In
the case of employee will be:
Stephen M. Simes
1173 RFD
Long
Grove, IL 60047
Any party may, by notice to the other party, designate
a changed address. Any notice, if mailed
properly addressed, postage prepaid, registered or certified mail, will be
deemed dispatched on the registered date or that date stamped on the certified
mail receipt, and will be deemed received within the second business day thereafter
or when it is actually received, whichever is sooner.
K. Captions. The various headings or captions in this
agreement are for convenience only and will not affect the meaning or
interpretation of this agreement.
Would you please
confirm that this agreement is in accordance with your understanding and that
you have received a copy of this letter by signing an dating it where indicated
below, and returning an executed copy for our records.
Very truly yours,
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BEN-ABRAHAM TECHNOLOGIES,
INC.
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/s/ Avi
Ben-Abraham
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*By: Avi
Ben-Abraham, M.D.
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Its: Chief
Executive Officer
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Agreed to and
confirmed as of January 21, 1998:
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/s/ Stephen M.
Simes
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Stephen M. Simes
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*Subject to
approval by the Companys Board of Directors.
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/s/ ABA
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13
CONFIDENTIAL
April 15, 1999
Mr. Stephen M. Simes
1173 RFD
Long Grove, IL 60047
Dear Stephen:
As you are aware, Ben-Abraham Technologies, Inc. (the
Company) has agreed to sell securities (the Transaction) to certain
investors on the date hereof pursuant to a Private Placement Memorandum dated
March 19, 1999 and certain Securities Purchase Agreements (the Securities
Purchase Agreements) with such purchasers (the Purchasers). The Securities Purchase Agreements specify,
as a condition to closing, that (i) the certain letter agreement dated as of
January 21, 1998 between you and the Company regarding your employment (the
Employment Agreement) be amended; and (ii) you waive certain rights you may
have under such Employment Agreement.
Terms not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms
in the Employment Agreement.
1. The
first two sentences of Section 11.1 of the Employment Agreement are hereby amended in their
entirety to read as follows:
You agree to devote, on
a full-time basis, all of your business house to the Companys business. You will diligently perform the duties of
your position within guidelines to be determined by the Board of Directors.
2. Section IV.C.3 of the Employment Agreement is hereby amended
in its entirety to read as follows:
In the event the Company
issues a stock dividend, or effectuates a stock split or exchange of any shares
of the Company, whether by way of reorganization, reclassification, conversion
or other means, the Company shall make appropriate adjustments to the terms of
the Option in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of your rights.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company has agreed
to issue to you concurrently with the closing of the Transaction additional
options to purchase that number of subordinate voting shares of the Company
equal to the product of (i) five percent (5%) multiplied by (ii) the
number of subordinate voting shares sold in the Transaction (excluding any
shares issuable pursuant to warrants).
You acknowledge that any future sales of securities by the Company will
not entitle you to additional options.
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3. In
the event the Transaction would be deemed a Change of Control, or cause a
Change of Control to have occurred, as such term is defined in Section IX.A of the Employment Agreement, you hereby agree
to waive, only with respect to any deemed Change of Control arising out of or
related to the Transaction (which, for greater certainty, includes the change
in constitution of the Board of Directors), any rights you have under Section IX.B, including without limitation the right for the
Option to become immediately exercisable.
4. Except
as otherwise specifically set forth herein, the Employment Agreement shall
remain in full force and effect.
You hereby acknowledge that the Company and the
Purchasers are entering into the Securities Purchase Agreements in reliance
upon on this letter. Please indicate
your agreement to the foregoing by signing the enclosed copy of this letter where
indicated and returning such executed copy to the Company.
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Very truly yours,
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Ben-Abraham
Technologies, Inc.
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By:
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/s/ Louis W. Sullivan
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Its: Chairman,
Board of Directors and
Chairman, Compensation Committee
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ACCEPTED AND
AGREED:
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/s/ Stephen M.
Simes
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Stephen M. Simes
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Dated:
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4/15/99
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15
AMENDMENT
TO EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT
February 19, 2007
Mr. Stephen M. Simes
1173 RFD
Long Grove, IL 60047
Dear Stephen:
The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors
of BioSante Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the Company) has decided to clarify
certain sections, as outlined below, of that certain letter agreement dated as
of January 21, 1998, as amended (the Employment Agreement), between you and
the Company. Terms not defined herein
shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Employment Agreement.
1. Section
III of the Employment Agreement is hereby amended in its entirety to read as
follows:
III. Term. This Agreement is effective January 20, 1998
(the Effective Date), and will terminate on December 31, 2000, unless earlier
terminated pursuant to Section V of this Agreement (the Base Term). On January 1, 2001, the term of your
employment will be extended for three (3) additional years unless on or before
October 1st immediately preceding such extension, either party gives written
notice to the other, in which case no automatic extension will occur. Commencing
on January 1, 2002 and on each January 1st thereafter, the term of your
employment will be automatically extended for one (1) additional year unless on
or before October 1st immediately preceding any such extension, either party
gives written notice to the other of the cessation of further extensions, in
which case no further automatic extensions will occur. For the avoidance of any doubt, the parties
hereby understand and acknowledge that absent any termination or non-renewal of
this Agreement in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, the term of
this Agreement at any given time will be at least two years and will be no more
than three years. In the event that the Company elects not to renew this
Agreement other than for cause as defined herein, you will be paid the amount
described in Section V.C.2 below.
2. Section
V.C.2(iii) of the Employment Agreement is hereby amended in its entirety to
read as follows:
(iii) continue to allow
you and your family to participate, at the Companys expense, in the Companys
group hospitalization, health, dental and disability insurance programs until
the earlier of (A) the expiration of the Severance Period,
or (B) your becoming eligible to participate in
another employers corresponding group insurance and disability plans;.
Please confirm
that this agreement is in accordance with your understanding and that you have
received a copy of this letter by signing and dating this letter where
indicated below, and returning an executed copy to the Company.
Very truly yours,
BIOSANTE PHARMACEUTICALS,
INC.
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/s/ Louis W. Sullivan, M.D.
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By: Louis
W. Sullivan, M.D.
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Its: Chairman
of the Board
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Agreed to and confirmed as of February 19, 2007:
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/s/ Stephen M.
Simes
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Stephen M. Simes
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